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24th out of 381 books
—
928 voters
The Guide
R.K. Narayan(1906-2001) is unusual among Indian authors writing in English in that he has stayed contentedly in his home country, venturing abroad only rarely. He rarely addresses political issues or tries to explore the cutting edge of fiction. He is a traditional teller of tales, a creator of realist fiction which is often gentle, humorous, and warm rather than hard-hitt...more
Paperback, 196 pages
Published
August 29th 2006
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1958)
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May 13, 2011
Smitha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers of Indian fiction
it has truly been described as a 'pensive comedy' - this is the story of Raju, an ordinary middle class man in South India, who vicariously rose to the height of fame, had a plunging fall, then again rose up like the phoenix to become a swamiji, a demi-god. More than Raju, I sympathize with Rosy, the dreamy eyed girl, whose only passion was dance, for which she had to suffer. Her husband left her, she took up with Raju, but then Raju soon became somewhat like a mercenary feeding upon her income....more
Jul 22, 2012
K.D. Oliveros
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to K.D. by:
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006-2010)
Those of you who think that Indian novels are always about sadness and despair of poor people, must think again. This book, The Guide by R. K. Narayan is funny. Unlike let's say, The God of Small Things or The Inheritance of Loss, this book will not make you squirt some tears from your eyes. Rather, when you close the book, you'll be happy yet mesmerized by its beauty.
It's beauty is not really in the narration or innovative storytelling. The novel's beauty is its ability to show you the traditi...more
It's beauty is not really in the narration or innovative storytelling. The novel's beauty is its ability to show you the traditi...more
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My friend Jim Earl recently wrote an excellent article entitled "How to Read the Indian Novel." This article was the culmination of reading sixty Indian novels over a fairly short period of time. His favorite Indian novelist of the many he read is R.K. Narayan. So I picked up Narayan's "The Guide" and read it with some words from Jim ringing in my ears: "Narayan always seems simple and easy to read, but he leaves one with much to ponder." Yes indeed. Raju, the central character in this novel, is...more
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This is the first of Narayan's novels that I've read, and I was bothered by it in the same way I'm always bothered by stories that sacrifice psychological verisimilitude for the sake of plot. Raju, the main character, begins the book as an unethical, opportunistic, but essentially likable fellow; as the story goes on he transforms first into a money-grubbing, misogynistic, self-serving asshole, and then into some semblance of a holy man. I don't have a problem with characters undergoing changes,...more
R.K. Narayan's Malgudi days was always close to me in the childhood, that unique melody which starts the serial which was telecasted on Doordarshan always makes me to go to the TV no matter where I am. Malgudi days has always moved me.
Before The Guide I have never read narayan's any novel, but i always wanted to read any one of his book. When I began reading The Guide I thought it's going to be about middle class family and there crisis or joys but Narayan surprised me by taking it into whole ot...more
Before The Guide I have never read narayan's any novel, but i always wanted to read any one of his book. When I began reading The Guide I thought it's going to be about middle class family and there crisis or joys but Narayan surprised me by taking it into whole ot...more
'The Guide' is the story of transformation of the protagonist, Raju from a simple tour guide to a great spiritual guide. Starting as a tourist guide in the small village of Malgudi, Raju more often known as Railway Raju, leads a very simple life with his widowed mother. However the entrance of Rosie and her husband, Marco, brings about a turmoil in all of their lives. Rosie aspires to be a famous dancer while Marco is focussed towards his career and totally apathetic towards Rosie and her dancin...more
The writing is quite spare and there is little description of the backdrop of the novel, apart from what is necessary.
The Guide is about Raju, who tells his story in the present and past. He has been in prison and has taken refuge in an empty temple by a river. The locals begin to believe he is a holy man. Interspersed is the story of Raju's past, his childhood, his time as a tourist guide. Then his affair with a married woman and its consequences. Raju is a rogue who is often self serving, but...more
The Guide is about Raju, who tells his story in the present and past. He has been in prison and has taken refuge in an empty temple by a river. The locals begin to believe he is a holy man. Interspersed is the story of Raju's past, his childhood, his time as a tourist guide. Then his affair with a married woman and its consequences. Raju is a rogue who is often self serving, but...more
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I didn't really put much thought into what kind of story this would be, but now that I have completed it, let me just say it went beyond my expectations. R. K. Narayan has a flair for storytelling.
I've been reading a lot of books which move back and forth in time, and 'The Guide' is one which does so brilliantly. The narration of the past is told in relevance to what is happening in the present, and written in a consistent manner too, making it easy for readers to follow.
I think the best thing a...more
I've been reading a lot of books which move back and forth in time, and 'The Guide' is one which does so brilliantly. The narration of the past is told in relevance to what is happening in the present, and written in a consistent manner too, making it easy for readers to follow.
I think the best thing a...more
Dec 30, 2011
Parikhit
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own,
indian-authors
R. K. Narayan’s stories have done it again and this time it is ‘The Guide’. Magnificent! Narayan is perfectionism achieved in writing. With the presentation simple, a narration soul-stirring and a ringing humour a reader finds herself transported to the town of Malgudi witnessing the daily affairs, fictitious yet real.
Raju humbly began as a dishonest tourist guide, morphed into a guide for success to his ladylove and settled for a spiritual guide to a group of credulous villagers. His transition...more
Raju humbly began as a dishonest tourist guide, morphed into a guide for success to his ladylove and settled for a spiritual guide to a group of credulous villagers. His transition...more
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I have many books by R.K. Narayan; 'The Guide' is my favourite. Its subtitle is 'A Novel of a Reluctant Holy Man', but it would be more fair to say that Raju is a surprised holy man. Taking refuge in a temple after being imprisoned, Raju is taken for a holy man and brought offerings of food. The tale of his rise from sinner to saint is one well worth reading.
This book was my introduction to R. K. Narayan back in 1989, when I was doing Post-Colonial Lit at Uni (my favourite ever subject, by the way, due in equal parts to the excellence of the authors and the humour and intelligence of Professor Griffiths). I adored it at the time and enjoyed it a lot now, although I wasn't quite so transported. Perhaps that is because I can now recognise recurring themes in Narayan's works and so it doesn't seem quite so fresh. (The Painter of Signs, for example, cov...more
I felt strange about this book. At first, I though I was going to love it. The story of Raju as the false holyman was captivating and beautiful. However, the soap opera narrative about Rosie, which never gets a proper conclusion, only seemed to distract from what I really wanted to know about. Furthermore, I'm not sure how to feel about R.K. Narayan's portrayal of women, they always seem to be heartless and aloof. I'm not sure if this is realistic of India, or if it is simply Narayan's lack of a...more
No matter how many books I read, I keep coming back to R.K. Narayan for yet another dose of his humorous satire, laden with rare pearls of wisdom, steeped in the humblest of real life situations. Yes, recently, I finished yet another novel of R.K. Narayan, ‘The Guide’ and the story was so interesting that I did not want to put it down, even after the novel has ended.
The Guide tells the story of Railway Raju, a young fatherless boy, who is transformed from a lost-in-world jail convict into a holy...more
The Guide tells the story of Railway Raju, a young fatherless boy, who is transformed from a lost-in-world jail convict into a holy...more
I am changing my favourite Indian writer to R K Narayan now! I kept remembering Swami and friends. Malgudi is such a clever and enticing creation ever!
There were moments in the story when I was laughing out loud to myself. The rustic quality in his writing brings out rural India and its people in a humorous yet dignified way. Railway Raju, with his share of faults and vulnerabilities, will be one character I can never forget. The childhood days, the home and its surroundings, the railway station...more
There were moments in the story when I was laughing out loud to myself. The rustic quality in his writing brings out rural India and its people in a humorous yet dignified way. Railway Raju, with his share of faults and vulnerabilities, will be one character I can never forget. The childhood days, the home and its surroundings, the railway station...more
It's always seemed apt to me that Graham Greene was who brought Narayan to Western readers. Narayan's plots are Greene-esque in their straightforwardnes, while his characters stripped down to elemental flaws and wants. You can learn a lot about writing from these fellahs. Can we call this British noir? Narayan is almost Chandlerish too, though, with his outrageously and hilarious (on purpose of course) mis-apt metaphors--his style seems to borrow the best from pulp. In The Guide it's on display...more
After reading Desai's "Inheritance of Loss" and hearing that she was a huge fan of Narayan's writing, I picked this up. What a great story! The majority of his writings are set w/in Malgudi, an imaginary town captured in time but very realistically portrayed. Why everyone should read fiction is a question long on my mind, and books like this help me focus my argument: they teach readers about foreign lands, about empathy, about living life in someone else's shoes, about what motivates others, ab...more
Super cool ....
Following White Tiger, I chose The Guide deliberately. Written 60 years earlier, it follows the same rubric of describing a mightily corrupt India by a compulsive narrator and his ensuing adventures. While Evelyn Waugh and Graham Greene seemed to have liked Guide, I found it eminently skimmable. Not one of the characters involved me--I'd go so far as to say they were two-dimensional, certainly according to today's high expectation. I didn't care what happened to any of them. I never lived their...more
Though I haven’t seen the movie version of it, I did see some scenes from it. So when the book started the image of Dev Anand was in mind when I try to picture Raju. But eventually Dev Anand faded and a typical dhoti clad Tamil guy replaced him. I guess that is the power of Narayan’s writing. He made us picture what he wants to even if we have some predetermined images about it.
Narayan keeps all the leading characters with the shades of grey, except for the innocent village folks and Gaffur. Raj...more
Narayan keeps all the leading characters with the shades of grey, except for the innocent village folks and Gaffur. Raj...more
"It's easy to read, but difficult to understand" says Michael Gorra in his foreword. And i agree with him a hundred percent. There are so many interpretations possible from this one. Some may like Raju, some may not. Some may like Rosie, some may not. Some may like Marco, some may not. My review:
It's a self-deprecatory repentant narrative by Raju as told to Velan after he's released from prison (earlier convicted for forgery). Am trying to forget the first person narrative by Raju and look at th...more
It's a self-deprecatory repentant narrative by Raju as told to Velan after he's released from prison (earlier convicted for forgery). Am trying to forget the first person narrative by Raju and look at th...more
چقدر ناراحت کننده است که حوصله نداشته باشی دربارهی کتاب خوب از نویسندهای خوب و بزرگ بنویسی و بنویسی چقدر از خوشحالی پس از مدتها یک رمان را دست گرفتهای و یک نفس بدون وقف آن را خواندهای. بس که زلال بود و خوشطعم
بنویسی که (نارایان) بسیار خوب نوشته و او بود که برای اولین بار به انگلیسی نوشت و راه باز کرد برای دیگر نویسندگان هندی زبان که به انگلیسی بنویسند و ما ایرانیان داستانهایشان را بخوانیم و بعدها نویسندهگان آنها برنده ی جایزههای بینالمللی
و بعد باز (غبرایی) است و یک ترجمهی خوب دیگر از...more
Seldom does a book or movie shakes you up to the core; The Guide does exactly that. The last time I cried while reading a book was when Dobby died in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I'm not going to compare this with the 1965 Navketan movie, because that would be an insult to both the masterpieces.
Yet again I am astounded by R.K. Narayan and his flair with the words. He is, no doubt, the best Indian author in English I've read thus far. He writes with beautiful words and narrates an amazing...more
I'm not going to compare this with the 1965 Navketan movie, because that would be an insult to both the masterpieces.
Yet again I am astounded by R.K. Narayan and his flair with the words. He is, no doubt, the best Indian author in English I've read thus far. He writes with beautiful words and narrates an amazing...more
May 24, 2009
Spiros
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those who enjoy convoluted, redemptive tales
Shelves:
citylights
"Railway Raju" is a thoroughly engaging rogue, a tour guide always looking to skim a little extra; when his life intersects with a bloodless pedant and his devadasi wife, his placid existence is up-ended, as he becomes captivated both by her beauty and her dancing. Raju is at his best when circumstances are at their worst: only when he becomes his mistress's highly successful impressario do we lose sympathy for him. The comic plight of a man who finds himself treated as a saint is every bit as h...more
The thing about R.K Narayan is that I don't think there is any Indian author out there who captures India:
1. So well
2. With such simplicity
3. With such profoundness.
The Guide starts off as a seemingly simple, straightforward story. But by the end you realise how truly profound the book is. This book is a must read for those who like to read about India and for Indians because I feel we really don't appreciate people like R.K Narayan enough!
1. So well
2. With such simplicity
3. With such profoundness.
The Guide starts off as a seemingly simple, straightforward story. But by the end you realise how truly profound the book is. This book is a must read for those who like to read about India and for Indians because I feel we really don't appreciate people like R.K Narayan enough!
The most striking feature I found in this book was the way R.K. Narayan elaborates the flashbacks of raju. These episodes are so naturally and beautifully depicted that one can see the Indian soul and spirit in a most spectacular way. This book finally ends to show that hope and austerity can cleanse one's soul and make him a saint.....
A completely heart touching tale elucidated through Indian soul...
A completely heart touching tale elucidated through Indian soul...
This is truly a master piece by one of the finest writers ever on INDIA. A well crafted story of an average selfish human being and his transformation all the way from an innocent child to liar guide to a true lover to a selfish brat to a caring prisoner to an acting swamiji to a meta morphed human being. The way the author shuffles between raju's past and present will leave you awe struck
An interesting book that, in its way, challenges the caste system and, really, any other kind of determinist worldview. Raju's life takes major twists and turns from merchant to tour guide or show-biz manager to prisoner to guru. The final question becomes: What makes us who we are--our own choices, or the opportunities life puts in our laps.
Great novel with a different mode of storytelling. One chapter narrates the present scene when Raju comes out of jail and next is devoted to the flashback. Both the parts of story unfold in such a manner that you would never like to put book down. The change in the Raju's mind is also felt by reader in his own mind. Convincingly narrated.
This book describes the real indian village boy's tendency! you are lost remembering the matching incidents having occured in your life and the character's!! The story ended with a very short suspense! But each turn in the life of 'Raju' is genuine and leads to a diiferent stage of life!
R. K. Naryan is the best author whom i have read ever!! great writing skills.. !!
R. K. Naryan is the best author whom i have read ever!! great writing skills.. !!
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R. K. Narayan is among the best known and most widely read Indian novelists writing in English.
R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja's College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there...more
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R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja's College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there...more
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